It took her three hours and twelve minutes, but Vera Zvonareva, the top seed in Eastbourne, defeated Serena Williams today in the second round of the AEGON International in Eastbourne. Part of the reason it took so long was that, right before what should have been match point in the third set, a half-volley Zvonareva hit right onto the line was called out. Zvonareva didn't hear the call, and was about to serve for the match when she heard the umpire say "Advantage, Miss Williams." Zvonareva protested, but the umpire let the call stand.
But that wasn't the only twist in the match. Williams, who won the first set 6-3, served for the match at 5-4 in the second. At 30-40, she double-faulted, and the set went to a tiebreak, which Zvonareva won. In the third set, after Zvonareva thought she had that match point, she was broken, but she went on to break Williams, and she won, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, on her fourth match point.
Two seeds were upset today. Daniela Hantuchova defeated 2nd seed Li Na 7-6, 6-3, and Agnieszka Radwanska defeated 4th seed Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-2. 5th seed Petra Kvitova cut it close, defeating Ekaterina Makarova 7-6(8), 7-6 (4).
Meanwhile, at the Unicef Open, Yanina Wickmayer inadvertently hit herself in the face when a ball she was returning bounced off her racquet and landed near her left eye. Wickmayer, who is continuing to heal after a wall fell on her last year, is dangerous at any speed. She did go on to defeat her opponent, Arantxa Parra Santonja, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5.
4th seed Flavia Pennetta is out; she was upset in straight sets by Jelena Dokic. Sara Errani served for the match at 5-4 in the second set against Svetlana Kuznetsova, but ultimately lost.
"Yanina Wickmayer inadvertently hit herself in the face when a ball she was returning bounced off her racquet and landed near her left eye. Wickmayer, who is continuing to heal after a wall fell on her last year".
ReplyDeleteIf you want to shake the world of a friend who's agnostic, just tell them about Yanina Wickmayer. She's one of the most poorly behaved players in the WTA. Slammed a ball into a lineswoman's face, later got accused of 'roiding, had a wall land on her, and had a ball careen off her own racket into her face. Life can be funny in an ironic way.
This is the first I've heard that Wickmayer was ever accused of taking any illegal substance. She didn't make herserlf available for a test; that's all I know about.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as far as I can tell, her behavior on court is fine now; she seems to have matured.
This cannot have effect in fact, that is what I believe.
ReplyDelete